Control Smartphone from your PC

The Cell Phone Use Problem:

I have a problem. I hate talking into a boxy cell phone all day. Voice quality of both the “ear-hole” speaker and the awkwardly placed microphone do not make this a productive piece of essential office communication equipment. In addition, my office location does not allow me to receive the best cell phone signal, especially as the phone moves which it would do if I was holding it up to my ear. They only obvious solution is to set the phone in one place while still being able to use it comfortably. That is next to impossible.

Cell Phone Use Solution:

This is a great productivity tip for anyone who needs to make a lot of calls on a clunky cell phone and it’s quite simple; control your phone remotely. Set your phone anywhere that you get a good signal. Next, plug the phone into a USB port on your PC (for the setup only, after which Wifi connect becomes available) and set the phone aside in a fixed position for best call reception.Next we must install an app that allows you to cast the phone’s screen on your PC. There are several phone screen mirroring apps to chose from.

Selecting the Right Phone Screen Mirroring App:

I tried the Vysor app but setup was not very intuitive and it looked like it was just a free trial with a pushy upgrade to a subscription process. My next attempt was using the ApowerMirror and while it’s setup was considerable easier, it is still just a free trial with a Pro upgrade option. The pricing is $70 for lifetime and two other annual options for $30 and $60. The lifetime offer seems like the obvious best deal.

The toughest part was enabling USB debugging mode, but It’s actually very simple. Verizon has a good knowledge base article on how to enable USB debugging mode on the very popular Samsung S7.

If you have any question on the setup of these apps, please post in the comments section below.

Other apps that are available but we did not yet try are Allcast and and Reflector 2.

Complete this tip with a new Bluetooth headset:

To complete the setup, you will need a Bluetooth headset that you will pair with the phone. Here is what I selected:

The Mpow brand has been around for several years now and they make a decent product. This is also the Top Seller on Amazon and includes Prime shipping for Prime members.

The added bonus of going Bluetooth is that you move the actual transmitter of the phone far away from your head. It’s a smart practice to use a Bluetooth headset to avoid unnecessary RF exposure to your head.